June 27, 2017 August 1, 2017 August 2, 2017 August 2, 2017 August 26, 2017 August 28, 2017 November 14, 2017 March 7, 2018 June 30, 2018

Mode(s)

1-2 Players (local), Tournament, Arcade, Classic, Story, Online

Age Rating(s)

T (ESRB) 12+ (PEGI) M (OFLC) B (CERO)

Genre(s)

Fighting

Media Included

Game disc, instruction manual

Human Killing Machine: Recoded is a game created for the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It is the supposed reboot to the game Human Killing Machine, a supposed "sequel" to the original Street Fighter game, despite being created by Tiertex instead of Capcom and having little to no similarities to the actual Street Fighter game besides the genre. Despite this, Recoded is generally considered a Street Fighter spinoff due to the similarities the games share (Capcom did some of the developing) and HKM's association with Street Fighter since its conception. Similarly to the first game, the game stars somewhat stereotypical characters from their mother countries (the original featured a bullfighter from Spain and Lebanese terrorists for example). Some of them are somewhat comical and absurd, giving the characters a similar vibe to those from Punch-Out Wii.

Contents

Gameplay

The gameplay of Human Killing Machine: Recoded is relatively similar to the gameplay of the Street Fighter series, but the game does have some differences and elements from other fighting games mixed in as well to make it distinct from the game series in which it is based upon. The game is mostly combo-based similarly to its game of origin; with high strategy being needed to play the game competitively. The game specifically designates separate buttons for special and regular moves in order to make the gameplay and combo-memorizing less confusing. The game's dodging techniques are largely based off of Rivals of Aether and the Smash Bros. series.

There are two options for dodges; shielding and parrying. Shielding is mostly based on Smash Bros.'s style of dodging, with a shield that prevents attacks yet hinders the opponent if broken (instead of stunning the player if shield breaks the player gets a minor power drop. Rolls and air dodges also exist too; the air dodging is based on that of Melee, although there is no technique based on wavedashing. Parrying is the technique based off of Rivals of Aether, and it requires much more skill to actually use. It is essentially a counterattack; if an opponent attacks the user and the user times the parry correctly the user will damage the opponent for half the amount of damage the normal attack would have given.

Like the dodging system, the attack system also has roots in other popular fighting games. The special, combo-based moves and the regular physicals have separate buttons, preventing confusion. The physical button contains most of the "normal" attacks, the regular punches, kicks, etc. Like Super Smash Bros.'s non-special moves, each characters' regular attacks have the same basic inputs albeit the actual attacks are different for each character. The special moves are the attacks that require memorization; as inputing different combos with them make them more powerful and overall better to use. The special moves are predominantly based off of Street Fighter's combo system.

There are various competitive techniques hidden in the game, as "glitches" hidden in a similar way to Super Smash Bros. Melee's wavedashing and l-cancelling though actually intended to be in the game. One hidden technique is based off of l-cancelling itself; if a specific button is pressed 15 frames or less before hitting the ground; it reduces lag upon hitting the ground, and the same thing happens if one airdodges into it. Rolls can also be sped up as well with the right timing, enabling competitive play to be much faster. Also if the player is hit by enough physical attacks while in shield, the player will use an automatic parry.

There are also fatalities, similar to those of the Mortal Kombat series, but far less gory in order to keep the game at a T rating. They function the exact same way as in Mortal Kombat; after an opponent's health has been taken away the player can perform a powerful attack, ultimately finishing them off or good. In the game settings they can be turned off, creating somewhat faster fights; this is often used in competitive play.

Overall, the game engine is similar to that of the Street Fighter series, with characters having hard to execute, combo-based moves, and little mobility in the arenas. Since the games both had the same developers, it is very easy to see the similarities between Street Fighter and HKM.

History

The idea of the game started in late 2014, with Capcom contacting Tiertex about the topic of a reboot of the very obscure Human Killing Machine game; a supposed sequel to the original Street Fighter. Despite not having developed a video game since the early 2000s, Tiertex responded, stating that the idea of a reboot sounds interesting.

In August 2015, Tiertex responded, telling Capcom they want to get to work on the reboot. Development began later that month; with Capcom and Tiertex using the engine of Street Fighter V. In September 2015, Capcom contacted Next Level Games to help with some of the character designs as they developed Punch-Out!! Wii, despite them only creating one character; Disco Kid. They accepted and sent some developers to work on the game. Later that year, in November, Square Enix requested to work on the game as one of their subsidiaries, U.S. Gold, now part of Eidos Interactive, helped make the original.

The game was first shown off at E3 2016, gaining mixed reactions among the gaming community, mostly because of the developers. Seeing that it was being developed by Capcom and a company which hadn't made an actual game since 2003. Most gamers saw the game as a potential disaster; especially as there was no demo to play. Others found the concept of rebooting a long-dead and very obscure series interesting, and were relatively optimistic over how the game would turn out.

Development went on as normal, and E3 came in 2017, this time an actual demo was shown off. Most gamers were relatively impressed as they thought the game was doomed to be a failure, liking the fusion between many fighting game engines. Afterwards, hope for a good experience were relatively high as the demo was enjoyed by most players. The game was released in Japan on June 27, shortly after E3.

The game received decent amounts of praise, although it had numerous of the criticisms that most Capcom games have. For example, the game had DLC put on the disc of the game, despite Capcom trying to lure player into buying it buy putting in version-exclusive crossover DLC characters, such as Mario and Kratos. The game's stereotypical characters gave it negative views among the international community and some countries even banned the game.

Modes

Battle

The Battle Mode is the regular fighting mode; simply pick a character, pick the opponent, and fight each other. There are numerous settings players can pick from in order to make the game more unique; for example, as mentioned before in the modes fatalities can be turned on and off; also it is possible to switch special or physical moves off; it is the simplest mode in the game.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is essentially the same as Battle mode, except it has more than one player. It is generally considered the "party mode" of the game; there is nothing very notable about it other than this.

Classic

This mode is slightly based off of the Classic Mode from the Super Smash Bros. series, with additions of the arcade modes in most fighting arcade games from the 1990s. The player fights a gauntlet of random fighters, and must not lose any of them. There are numerous different difficulties; Easy having five fighters, Normal having ten, Hard having fifteen, and Expert having twenty. The final boss is always Merkeva, although if he is being played as the final boss is main character Kwon.

Arcade

This mode is very similar to Classic, except that the player must defeat every fighter they have unlocked, in a similar fashion to Super Smash Bros.'s All-Star Mode. However, unlike Classic, all of the fighters have sub-par AI in order to make the mode not completely impossible fore the players. All the damage the player takes is permanent unless if they use a healing item.

Tourney

This mode is ideal for when there is more than two players starting a game. It is simply a tournament of between 4 and 64 people, being either actual humans or CPUs. The CPU battles can be skipped if they are added into the tourney, and their AI levels can be changed too. This mode is usually used in competitive HKM play.

Online

The online multiplayer of the game. Before going online, the player selects the settings they want their battle to have similar to those in Battle and Multiplayer; then the player proceeds to fight a random player from around the world that picked the exact same settings as they did.

Story

The story mode is mostly based off of the story modes in the Street Fighter series. The game doesn't have too complex of a story, the mode was mostly added for the sake of adding a story. Story Mode gives the player much more mobility than the other modes, giving them the ability to explore wide, non-linear areas. The mode plays mostly like a 2D beat-em-up with various attributes from various other game series. Each of the game's characters also have their own sub-stories in which the player is able to play upon beating the wider, overarching story mode.

Playable Characters

Default

Nation

Name

Description

Kwon

Kwon is a martial artist hailing from South Korea. In the original game, he was the only character the player could control; however in this he is one of many playables and the main focus of the Story Mode. The entirety of his attacks are melee and he is very balanced.

Hebi

A Japanese ninja and martial artist. While most of his attacks are punches and kicks, his special moves all rely on his katana, shurikens, and bombs. Hebi is also one of the most mobile characters in the game.

Khan

Khan is a swordsman hailing from the harsh steppes and mountains of Mongolia. His attacks are very fast and have decent range. His special attacks can summon a horse which can perform attacks for him.

Cyrus

Hailing from Iran, Cyrus takes inspiration from both modern-day Iran and ancient Persia. He's a turban-wearing Muslim fundamentalist, and also a deadly warrior much like his ancient Persian ancestors.

Kamures

A belly-dancer from Turkey. Her moves are all melee; and mostly all of these moves are kicks. She is a fast and mobile character with very high jumps enabling her to switch between both sides of the arena swiftly, making her a deadly counter to predominantly grounded characters.

Igor

A uniformed fighter from Russia. Igor carries a hunting rifle and an attack knife, using both as mostly melee weapons. He does have a few ranged attacks using his rifle, though. In this game he is Russian instead of Soviet as the USSR is no more.

Maria

A brunette prostitute in a bikini from the Netherlands. The player fights her in De Wallen, the red-light district of Amsterdam. Her attacks are almost all kicks, giving her moderate range. She is one of the fastest fighters in the game.

Brutus

A bull hailing from Spain. He has some of the most powerful attacks in the game, but they take a very long time to execute and have sub-par lag. He is fought in a bull-fighting cage.

Franz

A waiter from Germany. He has numerous long-ranged but weak attacks, for example throwing wine bottles and plates at the opponents. His other attacks are all weak kicks and punches.

Vlad

A vampire from the woodlands of central Romania. He is special in that he can glide using his cape while in the air, giving him more air time, mobility, and slower falls. His special attacks also absorb health from opponents they hit.

Alexander

A soldier from Macedonia. His main weapons are guns and bombs, which give him decent range and power. He gets his name from Alexander the Great, founder of the ancient Macedonian Empire.

Erik

A Viking sailor from Iceland. His moves are almost all melee attacks, mostly relying on his sword. Despite him being based on the stereotypical Viking, he does have some magic-based attacks, all based around ice.

Cleopatra

Similarly to Cyrus, Cleopatra has inspiration from both ancient Egypt and present-day Egypt. She is a magic-using character, focusing on water magic based off of the importance of the Nile to ancient Egypt. She also carries a small sword which is used for melee attacks.

Ngwane

A tribesman from Swaziland. His attacks consist of various weapons including a spear and a hunting knife. His ranged attacks are weak, but his melee attacks are devastating.

Edward

A pirate hailing from Somalia. His weapons consist of a gun and a sword, enabling him to attack opponents from all distances. His specials allow him to use more powerful gear like cannons and bombs. He takes his name from the infamous pirate Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard.

Geo

A jiu-jitsu fighter from Brazil. He is Kwon's friendly rival, often sparring with each other before tournaments. He is statistically similar to his rivalry but has moves based off of jiu-jitsu rather than kickboxing.

Boxer

An Australian kangaroo. His attacks are a devastating mix of power and speed, mostly being kicks. He does have some weaker punch attacks though. He also has an extremely high jump.

Unlockable

Nation

Name

Description

How to Unlock

Pak

A North Korean communist. He attacks using various tools used by the working class, including a hammer, a sickle, an axe, and a pickaxe. In his specials he can summon a tank and attack opponents with it.

Clear Arcade Mode once

Merkeva

A terrorist from Afghanistan. In the American version of the game, he's Iraqi. He has a missile strapped to his back, enabling him to hover. His attacks mostly rely on modern weaponry.

Clear Classic Mode on Hard

Zarina

An eagle tamer from the steppes of Kazakhstan. She has very few physical attacks and mostly uses birds to attack. She also can fly using one of her eagles, giving her the best mobility in the game.

Clear Classic Mode using any character from Asia

Ismail

A sultan from the Malay Peninsula. Most of his attacks are simply punches and kicks although he does have some special attacks based off of the fact that he is a monarch. He is relatively balanced overall.

Play the game for 2 hours overall

Faisal

A Saudi Arabian oil miner. His moves are a special mix between ranged and physical, ranging from strong punches to oil-based attacks.

Win 100 matches

Gangkhar

A dragon from Bhutan. He is the largest character in the game, giving him much range. He also has some of the most deadly special moves in the game, although they can inflict much damage on him if parried.

Win 500 matches

Hamida

An Indian princess and skilled yoga artist. She is relatively balanced and has many kinds of attacks unique to just her. She has physical moves based off of yoga poses, for example, and in some of her specials she can summon various animals like a tiger and an elephant.

Clear Arcade Mode 5 times

Delake

Another martial artist, this time from Taiwan. Like Kwon and Geo, his moves are mostly physical, and again he is very balanced, this time using kung fu.

Play the game for 5 hours

Zhang

Yet another character from China, but this time from the mainland. He is an inventor, and uses various moves based off of things invented in China. He is based off of all of the technological innovations introduced to the world by the ancient Chinese.

Win Classic Mode as one character from each continent

Ferdinand

A sailor and conqueror from Portugal. His main melee weapon is a sword; being based off of 16th century Spanish and Portuguese sailors and conquerors from that era.

Complete Arcade Mode once.

Karl

A businessman from Liechtenstein. His attacks are mostly melee-based and the few ranged attacks he does have involve throwing money. Seriously.

Play 1,500 matches.

Zeus

A, well, god, from Greece. Despite being a god, he has some of the slowest movement and attacks in the game, but he is deadly powerful. This trade-off makes him either loved or hated depending on the one playing him.

Win 300 matches

George

A king from the UK. He's kind of fat, making him slow but more powerful. His aerial attacks are terrible but he has a great ground game. Most mobile fighters, though, can destroy him easily.

Discover one of the hidden minigames

Louis

An artist from France. His attacks are very unique, ranging from melee attacks with a paintbrush to creating summons. This makes him a very powerful fighter, though he only has a limited amount of summons.

Use 20 summon moves

Illizi

A mysterious woman hailing from the deserts of southern Algeria. She wears a navy robe over her entire body, in order to protect herself from sandstorms. Her attacks are mostly sand-based magic attacks.

Complete Classic on any difficulty in less than 10 minutes

Nyerere

A Swahili trader from the coast of Tanzania. His attacks are quite varied, ranging from knife and spear attacks from simple punches. Overall, he is a balanced character with a varied moveset, giving him an edge over extremely unbalanced fighters.

Complete Arcade Mode as five different characters

Lionia

A lion from the island nation of Madagascar. He is a very fast character and has devastatingly powerful moves. Like Gangkhar, attacks parried against him are very powerful and can take away chunks of his health, giving him terrible defensive skills.

Boot up the game 50 times

Iyasu

An emperor from the nation of Ethiopia. His moves are like a combination of Malaysian fighter Ismail and various other fighters from Africa, creating a unique but balanced combination not seen in any other fighters.

Win 250 matches

Muscle Man

A character based off of stereotypical American pop culture. He is based off of Punch-Out's Super Macho Man, as the game was partly developed by Next Level Games. His attacks are quick but strong melee attacks. He is terrible at taking out ranged characters, though.

Complete Classic Mode on the Hard difficulty

Yohan

A dancer based off of stereotypical Jamaican dance culture. He wears a large afro with a rainbow headband, and most of his moves are melee attacks based on dance moves. He is one of the fastest characters in the game and his breakdancing attacks are deadly.

Play the game for 15 hours overall

Miguel

A worker from Cuba. His attacks are generally melee, and like North Korean fighter Pak he uses various tools to attack. He is considered a semi-clone and uses much of the same weapons but his attacks are faster and weaker. He can also use his cigars offensively, releasing a toxic smoke cloud into the air.

Complete Classic Mode on normal difficulty

Kuupik

An Inuit from Greenland. Most of his attacks involve ice magic and spears, making him a mostly ranged character. He can also thrust his spears as a melee, but they only do much damage if it lands at the exact tip.

Win Tournament Mode once

Manuel

A football player from Argentina. His attacks are a good mixture of ranged attacks, using both footballs and various maneuvers from the sport to attack. This makes him a relatively balanced character and is a fair match for mostly every character.

Win Classic Mode as a character from the Americas

Tarakona

A Maori tribesman. He is a semi-clone of Kuupik, using mostly spear based attacks. However, all of the ice attacks are removed and are replaced by various attacks using animals find in New Zealand or simple punches and kicks.

Win 650 matches

DLC Characters

Nation

Name

Description

Super Macho Man

A DLC character from the Punch-Out series. He is a semi-clone of Muscle Man; who is based off of him, but uses only punches. He is faster but less powerful than his unlockable counterpart.

Ryu

The main character of the well-known Street Fighter series. His moves are nearly identical to what they are in his fighting games.